Catherine Barr
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Catherine Barr
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Catherine Barr
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Catherine Barr
5-Pillar Friday: February 22, 2019
Catherine Barr
5-Pillar Friday: February 1, 2019

BC tourism

Travel: The Okanagan Valley

Okanagan Sunny, spectacularly beautiful, and bountiful with food and wine, the Okanagan Valley is one of my favourite places in the world – and every time I visit I discover something new and wonderful.

To read more about my adventures in the Okanagan, check out:

Below are some of the best places I’ve been to. Click the titles to visit their respective websites.

Stay: Manteo Resort 

2-Manteo-Resort

Stay: Sparkling Hill Resort 

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Stay: Spirit Ridge Vineyard, Resort and Spa

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Stay: Summerland Waterfront Resort and Spa 

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Stay: Watermark Beach Resort 

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Eat: Bogner’s of Penticton

7-Bogners

Eat: Eldorado Hotel’s Lakeside Restaurant 

8-Eldorado

Eat: Local Lounge and Grille

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Eat: Miradoro at Tinhorn Creek 

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Eat: Sunset Organic Bistro at Summerhill Pyramid Winery

11-SunsetBistro

Eat: Terrafina at Hester Creek 

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Visit: LaStella Winery

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Visit: Le Vieux Pin Winery

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Visit: Mission Hill Family Estate Winery

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Visit: Nk'Mip Desert Cultural Centre and Nk'Mip Cellars

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Visit: Okanagan Crush Pad 

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Visit: Summerhill Pyramid Winery 

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Visit: Tantalus Vineyards

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Visit: Tinhorn Creek Vineyards 

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(All images: Aaron Barr & Catherine Roscoe Barr)

 

Travel: BC's Coast Mountain Circle Route

 

Last September, three of my best friends from high school in Montana – Leslie, Nissa and Katie – who I hadn’t seen in 15 years, came to Vancouver for an amazing RV adventure.

The four of us piled into a 26-foot RV from West Coast Mountain Campers, driven by yours truly, and set out for the 600-kilometre Coast Mountain Circle Route.

We stopped at RV sites in Harrison Hot Springs, Lillooet, Whistler and Vancouver, and visited some of my favourite parks and producers in British Columbia including The Farm House Natural Cheeses, Coquihalla Canyon Provincial Park, Fort Berens Estate Winery, Joffre Lakes Provincial Park, and Mile One Eating House.

 

>>> Check out my story about our adventure for The Province HERE <<<

 

Below are the highlights from our trip. Click the titles to visit their respective websites.

 

STAY: West Coast Mountain Campers RV (rental)

(Image: Riverside Resort)

STAY: Capilano River RV Park, West Vancouver

(Image: Capilano River RV Park) 

EAT: The Copper Room at the Harrison Hot Springs Resort

Adventures in the Great Outdoors

Standing on the front lawn of my house at Beauvais Lake Provincial Park in my snazzy uniform.

An article I just read in the Georgia Straight about Writing-on-Stone Provincial Park and park interpreter Bonnie Moffett got me thinking about the good old days when I was an Alberta park interpreter at beautiful Beauvais Lake Provincial Park.

From May to August for three summers while I attended university I led guided hikes on the natural and cultural history of the area for groups of up to 30 school children, park visitors and campers.

Leading an activity with a group of elementary students (left) and showing our love of trees with a fellow interpreter (right) at Beauvais Lake Provincial Park.

To be outside for nearly the whole day almost every day was truly awesome, even on my days off I was outside running, hiking, canoeing or just enjoying the view from my very own little house on the lake.

Having a paddle around Beauvais Lake with my little brother.

I haven’t done a lot of hiking since moving to Vancouver almost four years ago – it sounds so awful when I say it out loud. Four years? – so it’s time to get back to that wonderful activity that is deeply woven into the fibres of my being.

There is something so special about walking around in nature that goes well beyond the physical benefits of using your muscles and exercising your lungs. The smell of toasting pine needles heated by the sun, the buzz of hummingbirds foraging for nectar and insects, the sight of ground squirrels poking their heads out of their burrow, or discovering the incredible abundance of life in a quiet wetland does something magical to your soul.

I'm in my element leading a wetland discovery program at Beauvais Lake Provincial Park.

Experiencing the natural environment recharges your battery on a different level than food and exercise alone can do. With the soul-filling awesomeness of the great outdoors in mind, here are some resources for planning your own invigorating adventure in BC.